Irish Wedding News
07/05/2014
'Baby brain' is a term often attributed to women during pregnancy if they become forgetful or more emotional, but now experts have claimed the condition actually exists.
The research, conducted by Royal Holloway, University of London and which will be presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference, changes occurring in the brain during pregnancy are said to help mothers prepare for bonding with their newborn.
The team looked at the neuro-psychological activity of 19 pregnant women and 20 mothers whose babies were nine weeks old on average. They were asked to look at images of both adult and baby faces with either positive or negative expressions. The study used the chimeric faces test, which is based on images composed of half of a neutral face and half of an emotive face; the combined photo then allows researchers to identify which side of the participants' brain is used to process positive and negative emotions.
Pregnant women were found to use the right side of their brain more than new mothers – especially when processing positive emotions, the results found. The right side of the brain has long been associated with emotion, while the left hand side of the brain is associated with logic.
Commenting on the results, Dr Victoria Bourne, lead researcher, said: "Our findings give us a significant insight into the 'baby brain' phenomenon that makes a woman more sensitive during the child bearing process.
"The results suggest that during pregnancy, there are changes in how the brain processes facial emotions that ensure that mothers are neurologically prepared to bond with their babies at birth."
In addition, the pregnant women in the study were also better at picking up emotions than the mothers whose babies had already been born, but further research is said to be required into this discovery.
Dr Bourne added: "It seems the extra sensitivity occurs during pregnancy so that a woman is attuned to her baby straight after the birth.
"It could be said to help develop a mother's intuition so they are very sensitive to the baby's needs.
"Discovering the neuropsychological processes that may underpin these changes is a key step towards understanding how they might influence a mother's bonding with her baby."
(JP)
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'Baby Brain' Can Help Bonding
A new study has suggested that not only does 'baby brain' exist, but it can help a mother to bond with her child.'Baby brain' is a term often attributed to women during pregnancy if they become forgetful or more emotional, but now experts have claimed the condition actually exists.
The research, conducted by Royal Holloway, University of London and which will be presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference, changes occurring in the brain during pregnancy are said to help mothers prepare for bonding with their newborn.
The team looked at the neuro-psychological activity of 19 pregnant women and 20 mothers whose babies were nine weeks old on average. They were asked to look at images of both adult and baby faces with either positive or negative expressions. The study used the chimeric faces test, which is based on images composed of half of a neutral face and half of an emotive face; the combined photo then allows researchers to identify which side of the participants' brain is used to process positive and negative emotions.
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Pregnant women were found to use the right side of their brain more than new mothers – especially when processing positive emotions, the results found. The right side of the brain has long been associated with emotion, while the left hand side of the brain is associated with logic.
Commenting on the results, Dr Victoria Bourne, lead researcher, said: "Our findings give us a significant insight into the 'baby brain' phenomenon that makes a woman more sensitive during the child bearing process.
"The results suggest that during pregnancy, there are changes in how the brain processes facial emotions that ensure that mothers are neurologically prepared to bond with their babies at birth."
In addition, the pregnant women in the study were also better at picking up emotions than the mothers whose babies had already been born, but further research is said to be required into this discovery.
Dr Bourne added: "It seems the extra sensitivity occurs during pregnancy so that a woman is attuned to her baby straight after the birth.
"It could be said to help develop a mother's intuition so they are very sensitive to the baby's needs.
"Discovering the neuropsychological processes that may underpin these changes is a key step towards understanding how they might influence a mother's bonding with her baby."
(JP)
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